Sour ‘Hibi No Neiro’ is a music video that is filmed entirely via webcams. The song is about the need to express one’s individuality in order to positively contribute to the rest of the world. Webcams provided a poignant medium to visualise this theme, as they are responsible for connecting so many people around the world.Webcams overcame both the $0 budget concerns and the fact the band had to be shot remotely. Also, no one had attempted to make a music video using video chat before.The 80 plus cast members were sourced from the band’s international fan base via social networking platforms and blog posts. Each animation sequence relies on the precise choreography and direction of up to 64 cast members at a time. The video was then launched exclusively on YouTube. The online community took it from there.

Sour began as a little known Japanese Indie band; within six months of the video’s release they had penetrated both U.S. and European music markets, a previously unimaginable achievement for a non-English speaking Japanese band.

At last count the video had over 2.5 million views on YouTube and another 2.5 million views on YouKu.com (the Chinese YouTube). The video is the #1 top rated and favorited film and animation in Japan of ‘All Time’. It reached #3 Top rated Film and animation of ‘All Time’ Worldwide.The video appeared on over 2.8 million websites. Was featured in countless publications and news networks in over 52 countries. It even became part of the permanent exhibition in the Australia Centre of the moving image.Additionally the video influenced more than 15 different interpretations from around the globe, both amateur and commercial. All of which eventually pointed back to the original video.

Much of the preliminary promotional activity of the project was done during the recruiting process, as cast members were sourced via media channels such as the band’s blog, fan sites and social networking platforms.The video was exclusively launched on YouTube to appeal to an audience that would instantly relate to the webcam as both a means of communication and expression, thus increasing the likelihood of it being shared with others. Also, the low-fi nature of the music video best suited the kind of content that the viewers would already be consuming on this media channel.

The music video’s success heavily relied on blog and twitter support. A small amount of which was intentionally seeded at an early stage, however, the vast majority of growth happened organically.